The European Pharmaceutical Wholesale Industry: - phagro

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The European Pharmaceutical Wholesale Industry the new EU-members this value increases to 2.70 times a day. In most of the countries, retail pharmacies are supplied between 1 and 3 times a day. In Finland and Sweden, wholesalers on average only ship medicines once per day. With up to 5 deliveries per day, the average delivery-frequency is highest in Austria and Spain. 39 Pharmaceutical wholesalers help reducing pharmacies’ inventories by providing just in time delivery: Pharmacies receive orders given, up to 2.7 times a day on average. 6.2 Wholesaling: Benefits for the Patient Although pharmaceutical full-line wholesalers are engaged in business-to-business operations, patients directly benefit from services provided by them. Primarily, these benefits are directly connected to the logistic services provided. The maintenance of an efficient, low-cost network of distribution centers is the foundation of a Europe-wide fast and continuous supply of medicines, ensuring that even very slow moving – but nonetheless vital - medicines are available at dispensaries closest to the patient. In most European countries, public service obligations are placed on wholesalers to guarantee permanently an adequate range of medicinal products to meet the requirements of a specific geographical area and to deliver the supplies requested within a very short time over the whole of the area in question (Directive 2001/83/EC, amended by Directive 2004/27/EC, Title VII Wholesale Distribution). But the patients’ benefits from the existence of pharmaceutical full-line wholesalers are not limited to logistics. Another very important (but often overlooked) task of wholesalers is to ensure that medicines delivered still meet the high quality standards set up for the manufacturing industry when the products are handed over to the patient. Supply chain safety is mainly ensured by full-line wholesalers’ compliance with the principles and guidelines of Good Distribution Practice published by the Commission of the European Communities (94/C63/EC). A cornerstone of the enhancement of patients’ security is the collection and destruction of outdated medicines and the maintenance of reliable recall procedures, guaranteeing that recalled products are removed from sales and stored in isolated places. Patients do not only benefit from the efficient distribution network and services provided by full-line wholesalers in “normal” times. Based on its logistics-expertise and on emergency plans, wholesalers are well prepared to encounter crises and threats like avian flu or pandemic. In both cases, European pharmaceutical wholesalers can ensure fast, Europe-wide supply of all the medicines required to cope with these diseases. The same is true for the distribution of iodine tablets in case of nuclear accidents or terrorist attacks with nuclear material. Generally, the pharmaceutical wholesalers’ role in fighting terrorism, especially bio-terrorism, has increased over the last years. The wholesale industry is not only prepared to sup- IPF Institute for Pharmaeconomic Research
The European Pharmaceutical Wholesale Industry ply remedies (as far as they exist) in the worst case, but the industry also is heavily engaged in the prevention of crises by monitoring and tracking critical substances, thereby cooperating closely with government authorities. Based on emergency plans, full-line wholesalers are capable of delivering medicines needed in case of pandemic, nuclear accidents or avian flu. The industry is also engaged in combating bio-terrorism, since critical substances are constantly monitored and tracked. 6.3 Procurement, Warehousing, and Distribution The following sub-sections provide results on the pharmaceutical wholesalers’ supply chain management. The data required for the analysis made was thoroughly obtained by an inquiry of leading pharmaceutical wholesale companies throughout the European Union. The returned questionnaires from wholesale companies located in 16 countries represent a total market share of 50%. The results display average values on a country basis in order to guarantee confidentiality of the company data. 6.3.1 Procurement In 2004, pharmaceutical wholesalers covered by the second inquiry procured medicines from at least 50 to more than a thousand manufacturing companies. In general, 72.7% of the wholesale companies surveyed had a maximum of 300 medicines-suppliers. Especially in northern and Eastern Europe, the number of suppliers is comparably low whereas it is clearly above the average in Germany, Austria and Spain. Figure 33: Number of Suppliers, 2004 Non-Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals 22.7% 13.6% 4.6% 59.1% 9,1% 13.6% 4.6% 72,7% 1-300 Companies 301-600 Companies 601-900 Companies 901-1,200 Companies 1,201-1,500 Companies Source: IPF research In a highly competitive environment, wholesalers increasingly regard manufacturers as customers who not only demand excellent transportation services but overall expert logistics solutions. IPF Institute for Pharmaeconomic Research 40
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Contents a The European Pharmaceuti
Page 6 and 7: Figures c The European Pharmaceutic
Page 8 and 9: The European Pharmaceutical Wholesa
Page 10 and 11: III The European Pharmaceutical Who
Page 12 and 13: V The European Pharmaceutical Whole
Page 14 and 15: VII The European Pharmaceutical Who
Page 18 and 19: 1 Introduction 1 The European Pharm
Page 22 and 23: 5 The European Pharmaceutical Whole
Page 28 and 29: 11 The European Pharmaceutical Whol
Page 40 and 41: 23 75 74 73 72 71 70 The European P
Page 60 and 61: 43 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 The Eur
Page 86 and 87: 9 Bibliography 69 The European Phar
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The European Pharmaceutical Wholesale Industry: - phagro

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